In this day and age, a lot of us consume news, entertainment and media online. However, that is not to say there is no place for newspapers and magazines. In fact, many people are looking for ways to get off the internet in their downtime. And as fewer publishers turn to magazines, there is a gap in the market for you to potentially target.
So how do you create a newspaper?
The Design
A newspaper is a combination of design and of text. Here are some considerations to take into account in the design stage:
Floor Plan
A floor plan is a layout for a publication that shows where the text and graphical elements will be positioned.
Font
A font describes the typeface you use. What's the difference between a typeface and font? While the two terms are often used interchangeably, a font essentially describes the precise way the text looks, whereas the typeface is a slightly broader category. So Arial Bold is the font, whereas Arial is the typeface.
Triad Color Palettes
Color schemes that consist of three equidistant colors.
Typographic
Typographic designs are images that are made purely of text and various different typefaces. Very popular currently.
The Next Stage
Usually the graphics and text will be arranged into a floor plan using a piece of specialist software and then can be sent to a publisher to be printed en-masse and distributed to stores. Usually the completed newspaper will be finished the day before it ‘goes to press’, while magazines will often be written and designed a full month before appearing on shelves. This needs to be considered during content scheduling.
It is also important for the magazine to have a business model: how will it earn money? Usually this is achieved through a combination of sales and through sales of advertising space.
Somme papers are distributed entirely freely and make their money purely from the advertising! This is something that must be discussed with the publisher.